


Brain freeze

by Ash0605



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Birthday, Dessert & Sweets, Eli vents and stuffs her face with parfaits with Honoka, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Is Eli Gay or European?, Lots of shouting, SIKE SHES BOTH!, Tags Are Hard, hurt/comfort?, she feels better afterwards dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605
Summary: As countless stresses and frustrations start to mount up, Eli turns to her usual tactic of stuffing her face with parfaits. Though with Honoka accompanying her this time, Eli explores another way of venting her frustrations.Happy Birthday Eli!
Relationships: Ayase Eli/Kousaka Honoka
Kudos: 23





	Brain freeze

Eli sat across the table from Honoka with the most tempestuous expression she had ever seen her wearing. The storminess of her expression described both the intensity and the rarity of it, and it easily stood out amidst a pleasant day in Akiba. Crowds of people passed the parfait shop they were residing at, bringing a constant stream of noise and bustle along with them. An unusual cold bite alongside the summer air convinced most customers to eat their ice creams inside, but other than the loneliness of the outside seating area the atmosphere of the café was modern and summery like usual.

Though perhaps the loneliness of the outside seating area wasn’t just due to the weather. Eli’s pleasant ponytail and outfit, which consisted of stylish knee-high boots, a flower-patterned skirt and bright brown waist coat sat in complete contrast to the intense blue eyes she surveyed the surrounding area with. Her eyes sent shudders of anticipation and fear through Honoka’s body when they met her own eyes. If she wasn’t Eli’s friend in that moment she would have had no qualms in quickly scurrying away to another café with a nicer atmosphere.

Eli noticed Honoka’s fear and was staring at her with a narrowed gaze. “You don’t look particularly comfortable.” she stated bluntly. Her gaze seemed to soften before she started speaking again. “You don’t have to eat with me if my bad mood is making you feel unsafe.”

“Don’t worry about it Eli-chan! I’m not going to deny that you’re scaring me a bit, but I want to make you feel better! It’s always better to do things like this with company!” Her voice wavered as she started speaking, which was probably the reason why Eli’s expression remained unconvinced.

“If that’s the case, I won’t question it. I definitely appreciate you being here. Just don’t hold me liable for what happens next.” She turned her head as she finished speaking, turning Honoka’s attention to the waitress approaching the table.

The waitress retreated quickly after Eli ordered her jumbo chocolate parfait. Eli’s gaze lowered down to the table afterwards, but it snapped back up to meet Honoka’s as the waitress went back into the café, closing the door with a distant thud. “Am I ok starting?” Eli asked quietly.

After a hesitant nod from Honoka, Eli slammed her hands down loudly on the table.

“Student council is so frustrating at the moment!” she thundered. “We have 10 people on the council excluding me and Nozomi yet I’m still doing most of the work and babysitting the others! I’m tired of sitting there working on documents that the other members should have done instead of going to practice like I want to! I’ve been late to club for 2 weeks in a row now and I’m DONE with seeing all of you look at me as I walk in! I already feel terrible for turning up late and I don’t need you all rubbing it in!”

As Eli struggled with her emotions amidst her heavy breathing, Honoka found the courage to speak, timidly raising her hand as if she were in class. “W-we aren’t judging you for being-“

“And don’t get me STARTED on Nozomi recently. I love her to death, but she’s unfathomable sometimes! I can’t tell what she wants from me! Is she staring into my soul and figuring out all of my problems?! Does her gaze even mean anything?! Is she just checking me out?! I SWEAR I’ve seen her eyes on my ass recently!”

Honoka saw a parent covering the ears of her child in her peripheral vision. “Eli-chan…!” she said meekly. “Langua-“

Eli slumped down on the table, cutting Honoka off. “Ah, but all of this is going to continue, isn’t it?” she questioned to nobody in particularly, her tone of her voice now quieter and dangerously darker. ” _Oh Eli-senpaiiiiiiiiii! We’re so proud of your efforts in µ’s and as student council president, and we’re so happy you help saved the school_ except we’re not interested in applying to be the new president and keeping up the schools traditions and helping to maintain it for the future!” Her voice morphed from dripping with sickly sarcasm back to her previous thundering tone. “You’ll all SHOWER me with love letters, but none of you understand that I would SWOON for the girl that takes the council presidency off my hands! I can’t do this for second and third term!”

“Urm… ma’am?” came a meek voice, barely audible amidst Eli’s storm of anger.

“I’ve got exams to study for and a future to plan for like the other third years, and SURELY I’m not less entitled to these due to being council president, RIGHT?”

“Ma’am!” the voice returned as a shaky yell, and this time it got Eli and Honoka’s attention. They turned to see the waitress cowering behind a nearby table, holding Eli’s jumbo chocolate parfait in her hands. “You’re being really loud! Please be more considerate for the other customers!”

Honoka raised her hands up in front of her, chuckling in embarrassment. “I’m sorry for the noise! She’s having a bit of a moment.”

The waitress sighed as she made her way to the table. “I could tell. Just… be more considerate in future, ok? Anyway, I’ve got my order for you here.” She placed the parfait on the table with a resounding clink, accompanying it with a receipt and a few napkins. The large, enticing mixture of chocolate sauce, flakes and whipped cream was held in a clear dessert dish. The storm on Eli’s face cleared instantly, enchanted by the sweet treat sat in front of her. The pair thanked the waitress, who bowed politely before scurrying away.

Two spoons were sticking out of the parfait at opposite ends, and Honoka reached for one. She pulled it out, licking it clean of cream and chocolate sauce. Closing her eyes as she savored the satisfying taste, she opened them again to see Eli staring at her with a cold, narrow stare, pulling the dessert over to her with both hands. “E-Eli-chan?! I’m not going to steal your ice cream! I was just removing the spoon!” Honoka defended.

“I know. Just…. Ugh……” She slumped down on the table again. “I’m sorry for all of this. I’m sorry that this situation has caused me to act like such an inconsiderate child.” she lamented.

“It’s ok Eli-chan. I know you don’t mean it badly. You don’t get to release your anger and frustration much, so it’s difficult to restrain yourself. Just enjoy your parfait, ok?”

Eli chuckled gratefully, grasping her spoon with renewed vigor and flashing Honoka a genuine smile. “Thank you Honoka-chan. You’re always too good to me. This is really unrelated, but do you want to time me?”

Honoka tilted her head. “Time… you?”

“Nozomi always turns on a stopwatch as I eat. My current record for the jumbo chocolate parfait is 29.85 seconds.”

“Oh gosh!” Honoka exclaimed, taken back by the speed of Eli’s eating. She reached for her phone and turned to the stopwatch setting. “Alright, I’ve got it ready, let me know when you’re good to go.”

Eli nodded, after which she reached for a napkin and tied it around her neck with practiced, surgical precision. She repositioned the dessert to sit right in front of her, grasping her spoon tightly in one hand and steadying the dessert dish in the other. “I’m ready.”

“Alright…GO!”

Eli instantly began shoveling spoonful’s of parfait into her mouth. She took no time savoring the combination of chocolate and cream, instead following each spoonful with another one at an incredibly efficient rate. She was remarkably accurate with her spoonful’s too. Her hand movements were like a blur yet she spilled none of the dessert onto the table or on her napkin. Honoka was so focused on Eli’s eating that she forgot to turn off the timer after she had finished, dropping the spoon in the glass with a triumphant flair.

“I got 32 seconds here, but I was a second or so late with turning the timer off.” Honoka recounted.

“That’s ok! I know I did well anyway, so don’t worry abou- ARGHHHHH!” Eli wailed loudly, clutching her head tightly as she slumped down onto the table.

“Is that brain freeze?” Honoka questioned, leaning forward out of concern for her friend.

“Y….Yes…” Eli managed through gritted teeth and sharp inhalations. After a few seconds, the headache subsided and Eli leaned back, breathing heavily.

“Gosh Eli-chan! You really ate that too fast!”

“I know. I’m…not going to pretend that was all intentional…but I think there’s a part of me that finds brain freeze…very cathartic.”

“Cathartic?” Honoka tilted her head, placing a hand on her chin. “How so?”

“As you heard before, a lot of things are annoying me at once, even overwhelming me sometimes. When I get brain freeze it’s as if, for a few seconds, the only problem I have is the searing headache I’ve just given myself. Its… quite satisfying in that sense?” Eli chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. “Actually, never mind. That sounds stupid.”

“No I think it makes sense!” Honoka reassured. “Definitely weird, sure! But as long as it works for you then its ok!”

“That’s very encouraging.” Eli chuckled. “On a different note, thank you so much for coming with me. You were right before, having a friend here really helps.”

“Anytime Eli-chan! I can always make time for you! Is there anywhere else you want to go? I want to show you something before you leave.”

Eli rested her head on her hands, tilting her head accusatively. “Oh? So you did want me for something!” she joked.

“I didn’t just want something from you Eli-chan! If I did I’d have asked you to share your ice cream.” She reached for her bag under the table and fumbled through it, obscuring herself from Eli’s mocking expression. She pulled out an A4 piece of paper and slid it across the table towards Eli. Her eyes scanned the hiragana on the page, her eyes narrowing as she finished her first read through. She then carefully grasped the paper with two hands and studied it with narrow eyes, her eyes widening and returning to Honoka after she had finished.

“Honoka…?”

“I put this together with Umi-chan and Kotori-chan a few days ago.” Honoka explained. “It definitely needs some more refinement, so I wanted to ask for your opinion on what to do.”

“I can’t believe this…” Eli marveled in shock. “You’re… going to apply for president?”

Honoka started rubbing the back of her head, her eyes drifting down to focus on the table. “That’s the plan yeah! I’m probably not good enough for the role, but I want to try regardless.”

“That doesn’t matter Honoka! This is amazing!” She picked up the sheet and presented it back to Honoka. “You’ll need to add more to this, but you don’t need to make it fancy or super professional. Your campaign will probably just serve to spread the word of you actually applying since I doubt anyone else will apply to oppose you. That’s how it worked when I applied, at least.” Her face had completely brightened up, with her blue eyes sparkling and her mouth forming a gracious smile.

“Thank you for the advice Eli-chan! I just need to-“

“No thank YOU Honoka! Gods, I never thought anyone would take over from me! I shouldn’t feel this happy about losing a role, but… I do! It feels like such a massive weight off my shoulders!” She leaned back and chuckled to herself, looking the most relaxed she had felt all afternoon despite her excitement. After a few seconds of basking in the afterglow of relief, she straightened up, her mouth widening into a devilish smile. She rose up out of her seat and walked over to Honoka. She started leaning in towards Honoka, the latter girls cheeks turning redder the closer Eli got to them. As her embarrassment reached its peak she pushed Eli away with her hands, falling out of her seat in the process.

“Eli-chan?!” Honoka exclaimed, flustered. “Why did you do that?”

“Do you not remember what I said before? That I would swoon for the first girl who took the presidency from me?” she explained matter-of-factly.

“You were serious with that…!?” Honoka scrambled to her feet, taking a few steps away from Eli. She probed her mind for whatever love experience she had before realizing she didn’t even have to do that (That wasn’t just because she didn’t have any). “Y-You can’t just fall in love with someone for reasons like that! It’s a really serious thing! You need to know someone really well!”

“Hmmmm, you make a good point.” Eli was unfazed, closing her eyes and resting one hand on her hips and another hand on her chin as she thought through the issue. The indulgent smile from before returned after a few seconds. “Perhaps I have jumped a few steps ahead. If getting to know each other is the issue, then why don’t we do that right now?” she questioned. “I’ll pay for the parfaits, obviously.” she added with a wink.

Honoka gulped, hesitating for a few seconds as she formulated her answer. She eventually nodded as she took her seat. “I’ll do it. I can’t refuse someone who’s giving me free food.”

“That’s the answer I wanted to hear!” Eli remarked confidently. “I’ll be sure to make this worthwhile for the both of us.” she added as she returned to her own seat. “Waitress! If it’s not much trouble may I place another order?”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday to Eli Ayase, capable student council president, talented beauty and the second gayest member of μ's! I care her a lot, like I do with every member of μ's! The entire idea of this fic originally revolved around Eli eating parfaits, and even though I added the council president subplot I'm still surprised at how many words I managed. Perhaps I should stop worrying about fic lengths for simplistic ideas and just write them instead! (God what a thought!) I wrote this fic in a much shorter time than I usually manage (Just under 3hrs compared to 5) and this probably reflects in the writing, so I apologise for that!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments or feedback feel free to leave them here! If you want to reach out on twitter feel free to do so at @ash060500
> 
> I hope you have a good rest of your day and I wish you the best in staying safe!


End file.
